8 months and counting...

This month we have much to celebrate and give thanks.  I am thankful for this beautiful little boy who has been the missing piece from my life.  I am thankful that he is healthy and growing every day.  I don't even mind that he still wakes me up in the middle of the night.  He is such a precious little baby.

Now, on to more "serious" subjects.  Andrew has celebrated the 8th month of his birth!  I can't believe how much he has changed...even from last month!  There's no better way to celebrate than by placing a Christmas bow on one's head while giving the "crazy" eye for the camera.  :)

Some stats from this past month:

Weight: more than 2 Christmas geese combined

Length: almost as long as a 25 lb sack of rice

Eyes: still blue!  Will have to have a conversation with my mother on my "real" father

Teeth: 2 bottom incisors!

Favorite pasttimes: placing fingers inside of mommy's mouth...and nose when she is not looking

We will be heading back to Oklahoma and Kansas for baby's first Christmas.  Look for cute baby Christmas pictures in the future!

First tooth!

Last Sunday, I discovered Andrew's first tooth!  He's actually got TWO small tiny, SHARP teeth poking up from his bottom gums.  He was a little fussy for a couple of days, but I think it has passed.  If you look at him straight on, you can see one of his teeth coming in. 

This boy is growing up way too fast!  Before I know it, he's going to be asking for the keys to the car!

Santa!

Last week, Andrew and I paid a visit to see Santa at The Children's Museum.  He wasn't quite sure what to think of him.  No smiles, but at least he didn't cry.  :)

Snow!

We had our first real snow of the year last week.  We just had to bundle up and go outside to take some pictures in the beautiful sun!

Andrew loves to watch the snow!

Ice Cream

Towards the end of Aunt Teresa's stay, we had to end our night by having BRICS ice cream after a feast of food from Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple.  Andrew stared at all of us with envy...

YMCA!

I attempted to do the choreography for "Y.M.C.A." but Andrew was not feeling it.

This was an "M."

He definitely did not like making the letter "C."

Maybe he just doesn't like the "Village People."

Mommy...Feed me!

Lately, Andrew has been doing the maneuver, I call, the "baby taco."  He bends himself in half with the sole intent to munch on his toes.  Last week, I heard some wet sucking sounds and looked over to see Andrew saturating his footed pajamas.  I hope it was worth it, man!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone...too quickly!  I was so comatose on Thanksgiving day that I did not take any pictures.  In any case, I re-energized the day after and the family and Aunt Teresa headed to The Children's Museum to partake in the annual Yule Slide.

Andrew was not scared (or happy) to go down the slide.  So, he opted to close his eyes.

Next, was a trip to Egypt!  Andrew looks a little too comfy on the stuffed donkey.

Aunt Teresa likes to "cheese" it for the camera. 

Andrew needed to have a little snack while in the Barbie exhibit. 

Aunt Teresa is making a call to Barbie.

And before we headed home, we had to do a little Outlet Mall shopping and found this little number.  Very fitting for our little monkey!

7 months old!

Being 7 months old is so hard! 

How did we get here so fast?!  Andrew is growing like a weed and is constantly changing and surprising us.

He is now the rolling ninja!  Once he figured out how to roll from his belly to his back, he wanted to see how many complete rolls he could perform before hitting something.  That answer is 8.  He likes to pull himself up into sitting positions and will "climb" all over you to stand.  He is quite the monkey.  I think it is only a matter of time before he either crawls/stands/walks.  Once he is mobile - watch out!

Andrew has the most beautiful baby laughs.  He squeals with enthusiasm and loves it when you tickle him and say nonsense words.  He has also become very verbal.  He likes to say, "muh - muh - muh" and I am hoping that it turns into "mama" very soon.

Andrew is also obsessed with cell phones and remote controls.  If either one of those two things are within his grasp, he will twist and turn until he has it in his hands...and then into his mouth!

He favorite food is sweet potatoes.  He eats that every day.  He also enjoys bananas, butternut squash, cereal, and pears.  Foods he does not enjoy: peaches and avocadoes.

We have recently seen Andrew perform the baby taco.  That is when he bends in half to grab his foot and shove his toes in his mouth.

We don't know how much more he weighs from his last doctor's appointment, but I do know that it is definitely more than our dog and he would probably break the scale in the produce department.  He is already wearing 9 and 12 month clothes and even some of the 9 month clothes are starting to get a little snug.  He definitely does not have an eating problem.  :)

No teeth yet!  He still drools like a dog and chews on anything within reach, but no incisors spotted.  Maybe he will have one or two by the time we go home for Christmas.

Andrew's likes: jumping in the exersaucer, dancing, bouncing on his bottom, grabbing Herby's fur, sucking on mommy's face, the itsy bitsy spider, eating, gnawing on fingers, eating his toes, becoming a baby instrument, rolling, pulling hair, playing with his books.

Our little boy is growing up so fast!  I can't wait to see the next milestone!

Happy Halloween!

Andrew celebrated his first Halloween!  Can you find him among the other fat pumpkins?

Andrew's good friend, Cole, dropped by in his ferocious bear costume.  I think Andrew wanted to try out some of his ninja moves on him.

Ninja power!

We also had a pumpkin carving contest.  From left to right: Scary Bat (Jim), Jack O' Lantern (Jess), Skull and Crossbones (Rosemary), and Scary Goblin (Dustin).  At this point, it looks like Jess' pumpkin won!

Andrew had a great first Halloween and maybe next year he will be able to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.

Ninja Attack!

Beware!  Andrew has revealed his ninja skills.  He is deadly with a butter knife!

He draws you in with his innocent eyes and then he goes in for the kill!

(Daddy didn't realize Andrew's head band was on crooked.  He looks a little tipsy, but I swear he's only been fed breast milk.)

After a morning of ninja-ing, our little Tooterbug needs his rest.

6 months!

Andrew turned 6 months old last week!  Where does the time fly?  I can't believe he's already half a year old.  Here is a recap of Andrew's activities the last month...

Andrew can sit up by himself if someone helps him.  He can sit up for up to 30 minutes by himself before gravity takes over.  He enjoys playing with his toys and frequently puts anything in his mouth - toys, fingers, toes, cell phones, etc.

I have a feeling that he is teething, but the pediatrician has not seen any swelling yet (which is not to say that they aren't there somewhere).

Andrew eats solids 2-3 times a day.  His favorite food is sweet potatoes.  He does not sleep 7-9 hours a night anymore (which mommy and daddy miss dearly).  He is apparently going through another growth spurt.  Sometimes he gets up every two hours to nurse.  Mommy hasn't had to do that since Andrew was first born. 

Andrew can now roll BOTH ways!  He had been rolling from his back to his tummy for the past month and just yesterday decided to roll from his tummy to his back.  It is quite humorous to watch him roll.  Now that he can roll both ways, he tends to keep rolling until he hits something...or when mommy and daddy catch him.

Andrew loves to make noise!  He likes to imitate you and say nonsense words.  I swear I heard him say "Mama" the other day, but that was probably unintentional.  He does give you the occasional high-pitched scream to get your attention.

His eyes are still blue!  This is still quite the conundrum, but the pediatrician assures us that they will most likely change.

And here are Andrew's 6 month stats:

- 20 lbs, 10 oz

(with clothes and full diaper on - don't know how many ounces we can subtract)

- 27.5 inches long

- 0 teeth

- tons of cuteness

Pumpkin Patch!

This afternoon the family ventured to Beasley's Orchard to pick Andrew's first pumpkin!  Andrew was feeling pretty sexy and decided to expose his belly button for all to see.

How much do you think Andrew is worth?

Andrew is having a hard time choosing which pumpkin is the best.

We had a great time at the orchard.  We came home with a fabulous pumpkin, local apple cider, fresh apples and cherry preserves.  AND we did it all before the rain kicked in.  Next time we'll try to make it to the corn maze and hay ride.

Watch out, ladies!

This baby is too cool for school! 



Ladies, beware!  He's ready to break some hearts!

Mommy's Little Punkin!

Andrew is ready for Halloween!  Aunt Khanh bought him this outfit.  He's definitely mommy's little "big" pumpkin!

 

5 months old

This boy is growing up way too fast!  I can't believe he's already 5 months old!  At the end of our trip, Andrew hit 5 months and decided to FINALLY do a full baby sushi roll!  He can now roll over from his back to his belly.  Once he figured out how to do it, he can't stop!

His hair looks like he accidentally put his finger in a light socket.

Andrew had fun on his first vacation, first airplane ride, first time looking at the ocean, and many others!

Mutter Museum

We took a day trip to Philadelphia to visit the Mutter Museum.  It is a medical teaching museum and had some really cool stuff!  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the museum.  So, you will have to take my word for it that it was fantastic!!

One of the coolest things we saw was the human leather...yeah, think about it....

Atlantic City

We decided to spend a day in Atlantic City shopping and walking the Boardwalk.  We got Andrew all bundled up and began our walking adventure!

Andrew was so good...and sleepy.  He "saw" the ocean for the second time.

Before we headed home, we had to stop at Fralinger's for some Salt Water Taffy!  Yum!